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New Delhi: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash near Baramati on January 28 sent shockwaves across the nation.
Almost a week after the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) -- the aviation watchdog -- has ordered a special audit of VSR Ventures, the private jet company that operated the flight for the leader. The order comes as investigations over the Pawar plane crash pick up pace.
Ajit Pawar was onboard a Learjet 45 XR from Mumbai to Baramati when it burst into flames while trying to land, reportedly because of poor visibility. Ajit Pawar and four others, including pilot Sumit Kapur, co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak, Pawar's personal security officer Vidip Jadhav, and flight attendant Pinky Mali, died in the crash.
The special audit report of VSR Ventures is set to come out by February 15. The report will probe the checks and balances and logbooks of the company. The move is aimed at ensuring that the firm was monitoring aircraft maintenance and filing logbooks as per the protocol.
Besides this, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the circumstances that resulted in the crash.
In a statement, India's aviation regulator DGCA said that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European Union's (EU) aviation regulator which certifies non-EU airlines operating in its territories, had refused permission to VSR Ventures to operate in EU airspace.
The DGCA said EASA suspended VSR Ventures’ Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation after the company did not respond to queries about a September 14, 2023 accident in which Learjet 45 (VT-DBL) was involved.
TCO is a compulsory safety certification which is issued by EASA for non-EU airlines operating commercial flights in the European Union and specific European territories.
In 2020, VSR Ventures got TCO authorisation from the EU agency. After the September 2023 accident, EASA in 2024 asked VSR Ventures to share certain details of the accident, which the company did not furnish. Hence, on December 17, 2024, EASA suspended VSR's TCO authorisation. A year after that, the authorisation was revoked.
A Learjet 45XR crashed on September 14, 2023 as it was about to land at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport amid torrential rain and poor visibility.
The Learjet 45 was conducting a non-scheduled passenger service from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai, under the command of a Pilot in Command holding an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) and assisted by a co-pilot with a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL). Six passengers were on board.
A report by the Ministry of Civil Aviation said the aircraft "took off normally from Visakhapatnam, and the flight en route was uneventful".
The report said: "The aircraft established contact with Mumbai tower and was instructed to prepare for landing. The aircraft was cleared to land on Runway 27 and was given landing clearance at 113109 UTC. At the time of landing, Mumbai Airport was experiencing heavy rains and reduced visibility. The winds reported to the crew at the time of landing clearance was 'WIND 140 DEGREES 7 KTS RWY27'."
VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, officially VSR Aviation, is a New Delhi-based non-scheduled air transport company specialising in private jet charters, medical evacuations, and aviation consultancy.
